Utapao–Pattaya International Airport is a joint civil–military public airport serving Rayong and Pattaya cities in Thailand. It is in Ban Chang District of Rayong Province. Utapao lies approximately 140km southeast of Bangkok, about a 45-minute drive from Pattaya (Thailand’s most popular beach resort). As Bangkok’s two international airports are operating beyond capacity, the government intends to turn Utapao into a third major destination for airlines. Utapao Airport is planned to be the main transport spot of the east coast resorts of the Gulf of Thailand (Pattaya, Chanthaburi, Rayong, Trat and Koh Samet Island and Chang).A new second terminal, which will increase airport capacity from 800,000 to 3,000,000 persons per year, will open in a few years. Utapao could become Bangkok’s “third airport” after Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang. This could also feed into tourism, as the seaside resort of Pattaya is nearby.